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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
This was an odd read for me. I think it all depends on if you like Ari and Florence or not. I just never really cared about the main characters except for Cvareh.
The world building is amazing. The concepts were great. The villains and Cvareh’s sister were my favorite POVs. I freaking loved them. They were ridiculous and vicious and petty and I could have read way more form their pov. The dragon society and way they experience magic and time was so unique and interesting.
But Ari was kinda boring and ridiculously petty and angry no matter her past. She reminded me of a captain Marvel. So hard core and so little personality. She is so strong I never worried about her. Her only flaw is hating dragons to the point of self delusion. Not much to work with or grow through. Also a master builder guild person.
Florence stayed pretty generic for me. Not annoying but not particularly cool either.
The dialogue was pretty meh to me. For how unique the world is, the character interactions felt a bit scripted. Like plot points needed to be reached and character interactions were pre-charted and forced into motion.
I get whiplash from Ari being mad at Cvareh then not then mad again then not. Her journey to liking him is also pretty forced feeling.
My other problem was I don’t love plots where an entire first book could have been reduced to a single conversation at the beginning.
Spoilers
Ari is the inventor of the Philosopher’s Box. Cvareh came down to loom with a piece of the schematic to enlist looms help in overthrowing the dragon king.
The entire plot is just Ari taking Cvareh to the guild to find out Ari made the philosophers box and she’s the one that could get loom to help his family.
So basically, if Ari wasn’t such an angry pine cone against dragons, they could have discussed what he wanted and made a deal at the beginning of the book to mutually benefit both of their agendas. The end.
Least, that’s how my brain works.
It’s just all set up and word building introduction. And maybe if I enjoyed the characters and their interactions more that would have been fun? But I never grew attached to them.
The world building is amazing. The concepts were great. The villains and Cvareh’s sister were my favorite POVs. I freaking loved them. They were ridiculous and vicious and petty and I could have read way more form their pov. The dragon society and way they experience magic and time was so unique and interesting.
But Ari was kinda boring and ridiculously petty and angry no matter her past. She reminded me of a captain Marvel. So hard core and so little personality. She is so strong I never worried about her. Her only flaw is hating dragons to the point of self delusion. Not much to work with or grow through. Also a master builder guild person.
Florence stayed pretty generic for me. Not annoying but not particularly cool either.
The dialogue was pretty meh to me. For how unique the world is, the character interactions felt a bit scripted. Like plot points needed to be reached and character interactions were pre-charted and forced into motion.
I get whiplash from Ari being mad at Cvareh then not then mad again then not. Her journey to liking him is also pretty forced feeling.
My other problem was I don’t love plots where an entire first book could have been reduced to a single conversation at the beginning.
Spoilers
Ari is the inventor of the Philosopher’s Box. Cvareh came down to loom with a piece of the schematic to enlist looms help in overthrowing the dragon king.
The entire plot is just Ari taking Cvareh to the guild to find out Ari made the philosophers box and she’s the one that could get loom to help his family.
So basically, if Ari wasn’t such an angry pine cone against dragons, they could have discussed what he wanted and made a deal at the beginning of the book to mutually benefit both of their agendas. The end.
Least, that’s how my brain works.
It’s just all set up and word building introduction. And maybe if I enjoyed the characters and their interactions more that would have been fun? But I never grew attached to them.
A SOLID MEDIUM
So, this book. It's been about 24 hours and I'm still not sure how to review this. I had a lot of feelings while reading the book but now I don't have a lot left. This will be hard to review, please bear with me.
First, I liked the writing style. It was fast, simple yet complex and no fluff. At least the book had this going for it.
Second, this book lacked world building. There was barely anything and as you know if you've read more of my fantasy reviews, I hate books without world building. How do you expect me to understand the characters and what's going on if I don't know anything about the world this is set in?! Seriously, dedicate some time to explaining the world.
Third, apparently Florence is sixteen and Arianna is twenty-two. I had to be told this because the text does not point to their ages correctly. Florence comes across a 20-25 year old, while Ari acts and sounds more like a 35-40 year old. However, after Elise Kova told us their ages and told the situation surrounding people's age it became more clear. SHE IS NOT AN OLDER WOMAN!!
Fourth, Ari's sexuality and romantic interests.
Fifth, THIS WAS GROSS: He drops saliva & blood into your mouth while you are unconscious and the moment you wake up you lock your lips with his and search for his tongue *barf barf barf*
Sixth, in the end, I quite liked the book. It was hard to get into, but once it started to flow at around 35% in I started to like it. No love, no hate. It was just a solid medium.
EDIT: Seventh,.
So, this book. It's been about 24 hours and I'm still not sure how to review this. I had a lot of feelings while reading the book but now I don't have a lot left. This will be hard to review, please bear with me.
First, I liked the writing style. It was fast, simple yet complex and no fluff. At least the book had this going for it.
Second, this book lacked world building. There was barely anything and as you know if you've read more of my fantasy reviews, I hate books without world building. How do you expect me to understand the characters and what's going on if I don't know anything about the world this is set in?! Seriously, dedicate some time to explaining the world.
Third, apparently Florence is sixteen and Arianna is twenty-two. I had to be told this because the text does not point to their ages correctly. Florence comes across a 20-25 year old, while Ari acts and sounds more like a 35-40 year old. However, after Elise Kova told us their ages and told the situation surrounding people's age it became more clear. SHE IS NOT AN OLDER WOMAN!!
Spoiler
Apparently being 18 is considered being middle aged and people don't get older than 40. Cvareh, however, is around 40 years old but he looks and acts like he's 20-something. Ari is half his age, but she ages twice as fast, isn't that spiffy. IDK it kinda annoyed me.Fourth, Ari's sexuality and romantic interests.
Spoiler
Is she gay, is she bi, is she straight, is she something else? At first she seemed interested in Cvareh in a "I kinda hate you, but you're very sexy and strong" kinda way. But then we learn that there was/is a woman that she loved/loves. In my opinion you shouldn't make a character's sexual orientation a "plot twist". It's okay to keep us in the dark a little since it doesn't define a character but if a person is driven because of the love for someone it should be more explained at least.Fifth, THIS WAS GROSS: He drops saliva & blood into your mouth while you are unconscious and the moment you wake up you lock your lips with his and search for his tongue *barf barf barf*
Sixth, in the end, I quite liked the book. It was hard to get into, but once it started to flow at around 35% in I started to like it. No love, no hate. It was just a solid medium.
EDIT: Seventh,
Spoiler
Ari and Cvareh falling in love would be like vampires and werewolves falling in love (Edward & Jacob). Sure you should let people's backgrounds cloud your judgement but DIFFERENT SPECIES cannot and will not fall in love! So this is either gross and weird or Ari is not a Chimera and really just a dragon with some operations. And of course he looks very human for a dragon with only claws and fangs and his bright skin color to tell the difference. Wouldn't be a good book if he had 7 pairs of eyes, scales, wings and a tail now would it?!
It was a very interesting steampunk world with an imaginative take on races, technology, and magic. The antagonists were a bit one-dimensional, and the character development was a bit clumsy, with lots of telling, not showing, especially with regards to the relationships between the three protagonists. The protagonists Arianna, Cvareh, and Florence are all interesting and three-dimensional and the plot for the most part was engaging.
I got it as a discounted ebook, and I'd definitely read the next book in the series.
I got it as a discounted ebook, and I'd definitely read the next book in the series.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
This book was just not for me.
The story takes place in a steampunk world- which I was very interested to learn about. I liked the concept but the world building was nowhere near sufficient for my tastes (I had a lot of question that went unanswered). I struggled to become immersed in the story. There were also more perspectives than necessary (It did not help that I didn’t like any of the characters). This next one is nit-picky but I could not get over the basic human names for some of the dragons.
Lastly, on the bright side this was easy to read.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Update: I am looking into buying the book now - the cover is stunning and the book is worth having!
In depth review on my blog, here https://todaysdecameron.wordpress.com/2017/01/01/the-alchemists-of-loom-loom-saga-1-by-elise-kova/
The book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion and I had a lot of fun going through the book. If you like world building, magic and dragons, this is the book for you!
In depth review on my blog, here https://todaysdecameron.wordpress.com/2017/01/01/the-alchemists-of-loom-loom-saga-1-by-elise-kova/
The book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion and I had a lot of fun going through the book. If you like world building, magic and dragons, this is the book for you!
DNF 49% I really tried to get into this, but the pacing is too slow for me and there is no romance, at least at this point. It is an interesting world, but I would rather spend time on something I am hooked on rather than something I have to push to get through.
A really complex world. This is a difficult book to follow. I may pick it up on kindle in the future